6 Best Free Genealogy Software Downloads!

Family history research doesn’t have to be expensive, in fact some resources and products are available to you for free. In this post I want to show you some free genealogy software downloads. Please check them out so that you can start to trace your ancestry right away!

Before I begin!

If you are new to genealogy, (or even tired of continually paying for software updates), then you are probably after genealogy software that is free.

And I can quite understand because everybody likes free.

Don’t they?

Free is good but there are drawbacks though when it comes to choosing which genealogy software program is for you.

Not only do you have to choose which one is compatible to your operating system but also what features and tools are included in them that you need.

As these programs are free there are limitations to what you can and cannot do, except for GRAMPS.

These free versions are designed more as a taster at to what you can expect from the full version.

So, by trying out any of the following programs that I have reviewed here you can get a feel of the layout and interface as well as the tools and features that you can expect from the upgraded version.

Free Version Review!

You are not limited to the amount of information that you enter for your ancestors.

So, you can add as many facts, notes, sources and multimedia such as photos, sound and video clips as you like.

The same goes for the amount of people that you add to your tree. Yep, it’s unlimited!

You get a 3 person generation view of your family. So, there is no individual, pedigree or descendant view with this version of the program.

There are plenty of reports and charts for you to choose from with this free version. And you can create and print out maps detailing where your ancestors originated from and migrated to.

One of the great advantages with this program, (similar to the others that I have reviewed here), is that you can import your family tree from elsewhere. This is done by loading into the program a GEDCOM file.

Connect with records and others!

The remarkable advantage though is because this program is connected to the MyHeritage then you can match your tree to other members trees on the website.

This gives you the ability to discover even more information about your ancestors.

Now, because this program is brought to you by MyHeritage you can discover genealogical records featuring your ancestors.

Although you may find more information for your research you will need to subscribe to the website in order to fully access these records.

But still it’s a great avenue of research for you.

The downsides!

Even though this program is very powerful there are a few drawbacks to it.

The first is that you are not able to merge information from an existing tree into your tree that you have built with this program.

Also, you will be presented with a nagging screen when something is unavailable to you. This isn’t really a disadvantage with the program but I thought that I would list it all the same.

Free Version Review!

Before I continue I just want to mention that you are able to import your GEDCOM file from other software.

So, if you have created your family tree from elsewhere then there is no need to worry.

Also, you can export/create GEDCOM files with this program as well.

The reason why I recommend this software and why it is extremely popular among genealogists is because of the simplistic design, the powerfulness of the program, and that it has all the features that anyone could really need.

Different views and plenty of media!

The familiar family, pedigree, descendant, and index views are available for you to enter and edit your family tree from. There are also other kinds of views supported.

Multimedia support is not limited as you can add photographs, sound and video clips, maps, and more besides.

As this is a free version of the software you will be greeted with a nagging message when you select a tool or feature that is not available to you.

This isn’t really a disadvantage but still I thought that I would tell you about it.

It would still have been better if these tools and features were just simply greyed out instead.

Free Version Review!

Personal Ancestry Writer, or PAWriter for short, has a very simple design, which will make your life easier to use the program.

Because there are no distractions with this program you will clearly see what tools are available to you. And on top of that you can see what you are and are not able to do.

Pros and Cons

✔ Simple design
✔ Easy to navigate
✔ Good starting program

❌ Limited tools

RootsMagic Essentials

For the beginner this is a great free genealogy software program to get you started. Navigating around the interface is pretty easy as the menus, buttons and general appearance is easy to understand.

Even though it is easy for you to navigate around the program really well this version does suffer from a nagging screen. These screens appear when you first start up the program and whenever you select tools.

Tools that aren’t available in the free version are simply greyed out.

Free Version Review!

With the free version you have a choice of either pedigree or family view, where you can easily edit information for your ancestors.

The great benefit that I like with this version is that it supports unlimited data. So, you can add as many facts, multimedia, notes, and sources.

And you can easily find whichever ancestor that you are looking for within your family tree using the RootsMagic Explorer tool. The built-in templates also make citation really easy for you to do as you just fill in the blanks.

Easily see relationships!

Something that I really like with a program such as this is the ability to see how exactly that you are related to your ancestor.

And Essentials allows you to do this. It even can show you relationships such as adoptions and foster parents.

I mentioned that you are able to add multimedia. This includes photographs, sound clips, and video as well. And what also is good is that you can add photographs to your printed reports to make them even more appealing.

Within the free version of the program you get to choose between dozens of charts, reports and lists. So, you shouldn’t be too restricted.

Although it doesn’t allow you to hide individuals from reports. Which means you cannot keep people private.

Power tool included too!

Power tools are also included which can help you identify any problems with your tree. Date and soundex calculators are also included as well as sophisticated merge techniques.

If your ancestry is quite varied then you probably need the ability to handle international character sets. Well I am pleased to say that Essentials does support Unicode.

If you have already created your family tree then there is no need to worry. Essentials will allow you to import directly from Family Tree Maker, Legacy, PAF, The Master Genealogist, and Family Origins.

And if your program isn’t shown that’s OK as you can always import your tree from a GEDCOM file.

Thank You and Please Leave A Comment

I hope you enjoyed this post showing you the best free genealogy software downloads. If you think that this post will be helpful then please share with friends and family using the social media buttons below.

If you have any questions or comments then please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.

Hello, Owain here. After researching my family history for a number of years I wanted to give back to the genealogy world. So here you will find guides, tips and product reviews that will help you on your genealogy journey.

Hello Owain!
Thank you for the in-depth detailed reviews of the genealogy software! You made it really easy to see which ones would be great to try out. I have tried a few different ones here and there through out the years but kind of got away from it due to the constant upselling, nagging and limited functions of most of them.

I am very tempted to try out the Gramps, yes I admit, I thought it stood for Grandpa, lol. The main reason is because its totally free. One question I had though is there any way to generate a GEDCOM file with it?

I appreciate the time you spent creating this and for the great information!
Thank you!

To be honest I have never tried a free version. I am passionate about my family history and so I wanted to get a program that had all the features.

But as I said in the post free is good as it can give beginners a feel for what to expect with such a program and genealogy as a hobby. But if you want to do more with your research then a paid program is the way to go. In my opinion.

You’re welcome Colin. I have covered many areas of genealogy on this site so you are welcome to have a look around. There are plenty of guides and tips, as well as reviews on products and services that will help you to research your ancestry.

Hey Owain,, thanks for your selection of free genealogy software. I tried tracing my family tree back around the year 2000 but came across too many software issues. They were continually updating, adding new add ons and like you mention, it becomes very expensive, the reasons I gave up to be honest.

I like the sound of Gramps, especially when you give the software 5 stars, I’m fairly savvy on the computer so I’m sure I’ll overcome the first hurdle of installing. I think most of us require an easy user interface to aid our genealogy process meanwhile because you mention Gramps has unicode support for foreign countries, I think that will be beneficial as I roll back through our ancestral tree.
Thanks again for your help,
Simon.

Very nice review. As a Black person living in America, I have my doubts about finding any true success in such a venture. However, You had me with the gramps software product. I will keep an open mind but by knowing the treatment and the effort to deny me of my culture on a continuous basis is a hurdle that I am anxious to see if Gramps can overcome.

Gramps is a great program to get you started into the world of genealogy. It is essentially a way for you to store all that you have discovered about your family history.

If you want to discover more about your ancestors then you can always try Ancestry or FindMyPast. These two are my favourite genealogy search sites that you can visit. I have found out so much about my ancestors from these two sites.

This post was an eye opener. I have always wanted to trace my genealogy especially from my father’s side. I tend to gravitate to Gramps because it’s quite versatile and provides a number of features. I have bookmarked your site because I would like to act asap.

There is a lot of information on this post and thanks indeed for not holding back.

Glad this post was helpful Benito. It seems that most people are drawn towards the Gramps software. I can see why because of what it offers as well as the support behind it. And with this support there is plenty of improvements in the pipeline. So it is an exciting software to download for free.

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